(Kanonzaka) Seira snapped awake at her desk, her body jerking upright as if she'd been electrocuted.
Click.
"Seira? Are you... okay?" Arisa Kurusu entered the room, looking at her friend's dazed expression.
"I just feel... unwell," Seira muttered, leaning back into her chair.
"You've been like this for days. Maybe you should ask Sister Anna for a blessing?" Arisa suggested, noticing the deep fatigue in Seira's eyes.
"No, I'm fine," Seira waved her off.
"I don't know, Seira. You're leaking mana. People are saying you've become 'terrifying' lately," Arisa frowned. Seira's control was usually perfect; she shouldn't be leaking anything.
Seira closed her eyes to inspect her mana. It was thicker, higher quality—but it was saturated with an intense, dark desire.
"My mana has evolved... but I haven't absorbed anything new lately. The 'Evil Holy Grail' is still in its dormant phase," Seira whispered to herself. Her spells would now be three times more powerful than before. It was an impossible leap for a few days of rest.
"Reinforced mana? Can you help me do that too?" Arisa leaned in, her eyes sparkling.
"I don't know how—" Seira started, but suddenly, her hand shot out and gripped Arisa's throat.
"Ack! Gack! Seira?!" Arisa gasped, her eyes bulging.
Seira's expression was no longer tired. It was cold, detached, and utterly predatory. Red and black mana swirled around her.
"You have the scent of 'Destiny' on you," 'Seira' said in a voice that wasn't hers. "You've been intimate with 'The Chosen One'?"
As Arisa struggled, 'Seira' reached into her own chest. Red-black mist solidified into a jagged, wicked dagger.
The Dagger from the mountain?! Arisa realized with horror. It was sentient, and it had possessed her friend.
PLAP!
Before Arisa could react, 'Seira' drove the dagger through her chest. No blood fell. Instead, Arisa's lifeblood was instantly converted into mist and sucked into the blade.
"Sei... ra..." Arisa's eyes met the glowing red orbs of her friend as she lost consciousness.
'Seira' pulled the blade out and let Arisa's body slump to the floor.
"The Blood Holy Grail? Alistair? The transfer student... he has the 'King's Fate,' but it's incomplete. Does he need more 'vessels'? Wait... Eldest Sister is here too? Interesting. If Eldest is watching him and hasn't moved, I'll stay in the shadows for now..."
The entity inside Seira digested the memories. She waved a hand, and the dark mist wrapped Arisa's body into a cocoon, slowly assimilating her mana.
...
"AHHH!" Arisa screamed, bolting upright on the sofa in the Student Council room. She looked around frantically, touching her chest.
Intact.
"A nightmare?" She touched her neck; it felt phantomly sore. "Seira!"
She looked over at the desk. Seira was leaning back, her hand over her forehead as if napping.
"Seira?" Arisa whispered.
"Mmm..." Seira groaned, sounding weak.
"I... I think I had a horrible dream."
"That was no dream," a raspy, frigid voice echoed directly inside their brains.
The two girls froze. Red-black mist seeped from their pores, coalescing on the desk into the slender silhouette of a young girl.